Wednesday 30 November 2011

The hard man of French rugby!

It's probably done the rounds by now - but has everyone caught the video clip of French back row forward, Imanol Harinordoquy's Dad running onto the pitch during a match to defend his son who had got himself into a brawl ??

Obviously I don't condone family members or fans invading the pitch and starting a fight but this did make me chuckle.

For anyone not familiar with the incident it occured in the 6th minute of the match between Biarritz and Bayonne - normally a hotly contested match at any time made more so by the punch up.  The 'ever innocent' Harinordoquy had gotten himself into a little scuffle and a few punchs were flying.  All of a sudden out of nowhere, Papa comes running on to defend his son's honour.  In no time at all Papa is knocked to the floor by an apposing Bayonne player before someone else drags him off the pitch.

My thinking is that Mr H may have consumed one or two too many glasses of rouge before the game and was a little too eager to join in with the fun!  Or maybe, like most parents in the world he still see's his 6 foot 3 baby boy as someone that still needs his protectiom - "never fear son, Daddy's here!!"

For those of you that haven't seen it there's a short video below:


I can only imagine the level of banter in the dressing room and the bar at the end of the match!!

Thursday 24 November 2011

What's next ?



Well it’s only right that I should comment on the whole England manager fiasco, so here goes:

Did Johnson make the right decision in quitting?

Yes I think he did.  I agree with Sir Clive though when he said Johnson wasn’t supported enough from above.  Johnson knew that the RWC campaign hadn’t gone well (to say the least) and being the man that he is has accepted responsibility for it and fallen on his sword.  If only more would do that!  He’ll obviously maintain his position in the game as one of the best players and captains but his coaching reputation probably has some work to do and he might be best served to get some more experience further down the food chain.

Cheerio Johno!

Should others follow?

Undoubtedly yes!  Rob Andrew first and foremost –he’s had his role across the tenure of three head coaches and none of them have come out with anything to really smile about.  He’s the one ultimately that picked the last two coaches and as such with little to show for it should too depart and give someone else a go at the role!  For some reason last week during the press conference he seemed to shrug off any responsibility on his part for the world cup failure and that of elite rugby in England during his tenure.  If he’s not responsible for that then what is he responsible for?
He's got his coat already......

 John Wells and Mike Ford have been in their positions for what seems like an age.  England’s defense on the whole during the RWC was at times pretty good but I don’t think I’ve sat through a game without thinking that any moment the opposition could score!  The forwards have just never looked anything like their rivals in the breakdown and commit too many penalties.  You sit and wait for it just knowing it’s going to happen and only when the ref doesn’t blow is it a pleasant surprise.

The other two main coaches I feel deserve another crack of the whip.  The scrum has looked very good and has for a while and credit for that should go to Graham Rowntree.  As for attack coach Brian Smith, he’s undoubtedly talented and has the right idea – look at the six nations when England were scoring try’s – but I think he’s been hampered by the style that England choose to play.  Whoever the new head coach is they need to sit down with Brian Smith, figure out if their rugby philosophy is compatible and then make a decision from there.

So – who next?

Firstly, lets ensure that Rob Andrew doesn’t have a say in it as his track record hasn’t been too good!  Secondly, let’s make sure that everything at HQ is in order before a new appointment is made.  That means a new CEO in place and an idea of what direction England rugby should be moving in.  Once that’s all done then we’ll move on to who for the role.   So, who is that person?  Well so far everyone who’s anyone seems to be ruling themselves out!!

Before MJ was appointed Jake White was rumored to be interested in the role and the RFU probably missed a trick letting him slip through.  A man with a proven pedigree at winning competitions and building a strong team that can compete with the worlds best.  Jake has ruled himself out of the running.

Nick Mallet has now left Italy after a good record (for Italy) and was highly favoured for the role and was apparently approached soon after MJ signed himself off.  However he too has come out and said no it wouldn’t be him
How could we not love a face and features like those

 Graham Henry has followed suit in saying no thankyou.  Quite frankly I’m pretty pleased about that.  Yes he won the world cup with New Zealand but with their caliber of players then anyone half way decent should do that really!!  And yes he won the grand slam with Wales – this is probably a bigger achievement than the world cup.  However I can’t ever forget his man management skills (or lack of them) from the 2001 Lions tour to Australia – it doesn’t bode well and I think a lot of players would be nervous about reporting in to him.

Mr Miserable himself

 Jim Mallinder is another favourite to be appointed following his success at Northampton and I wouldn’t argue with this, but only on one condition.  That condition is that there is an “old hand” on board to help out.  Now naturally this would be a sort of Director role and at the moment that’s Rob Andrew who won’t do.  Mallinder will need a guiding hand from someone who has experience at an international level.  Ideally that person would be someone like Ian McGeechan – will the RFU employ a Scot?  Well a new one could, the current bunch of farts probably wouldn’t!

Jim pointing the way to the future ?!?
Following a 12 match unbeaten run Conor O’Shea also ruled himself out.  Probably for the best as lets face it – that run has come whilst some of the top teams had a lot of players away at the RWC.  Still, Quins have done the job in getting the wins and are playing a good quality of rugby with creativity in attack and a stern defence.
Could an Irishman lead England?
Eddie Jones is one of the few personalities to actually rule themselves IN for the running.  In terms of experience he certainly fits the bill having led Australia to the world cup final in 2003 and worked alongside Jake White in the South Africa team during their 2007 triumph.  His time at Saracens a while back wasn’t a massive success though and he never really did see eye to eye with the English press during his time at the helm of Australia – though at the time he was “the enemy”.  I don’t think he will get the job and I don’t think I’d be massively enamored if he did – but then England could do a lot worse.

Hmmmmm, not sure on this

Alas Sir Clive has also ruled himself out and I can’t really blame him!  He’s got the inside track on exactly what’s going on at RFU and I don’t think would go near the place with a barge pole if the current structure remains in place.


Which players can benefit from a change?

Obviously it depends on who comes in but there are some players in particular who can suddenly see the door reopened to them – the main one being Danny Cipriani.  Now yes, as a person he hasn’t been coming across that well over the last few years and there’s probably little argument about him not being in the squad.  However, one of the main criticisms of the world cup is that the team lacked attacking prowess and that the backline was never really let loose.  Cipriani has a talent to do something a little bit out of the ordinary that could pick the lock of the worlds defensive lines.  I liken him to Quade-Cooper in that way – he’s not your typical ball kicking fly half. 

Is Danny a comeback kid ?
With the end of the world cup ‘cycle’ there will be a natural churn in the England squad, as there is in all other international squads with certain players leaving the international scene.  Some of them we’ll probably be pleased to see go (Mike Tindall for instance) and some we’ll be sadder to see the back of (Nick Easter, Jonny Wilkinson maybe ?).  Naturally this opens the door to younger players but with a no coach on board some of the previous thoughts about those players may not be set in stone.  It gives the chance of players like Farrell at Saracens and Turner-Hall at Quins to really battle for a centre place for instance